Exeter–Andover rivalry

Exeter–Andover Football Match
1903 poster announcing football game.
Timeline	18781–present
Tournament format	Annual
Participants	Andover Exeter
Most successful	Andover (73–54–10)
Biggest winning margin	Exeter (1914: 78–7)
Most consecutive wins	Andover (1905–1912)

The Exeter-Andover rivalry is an academic and athletic rivalry between Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) and Phillips Academy (Andover), bearing many similarities of tradition and practice (as well as athletes) to the Harvard–Yale rivalry as Exeter traditionally educated its students for Harvard, much as Andover traditionally educated its students for Yale (despite being in the same state as Harvard). Today, Phillipians and Exonians continue to matriculate in large numbers to both Harvard and Yale, as well as many other top universities. The athletic rivalry between these two schools began with baseball, and football soon followed the same year. Today the two schools face each other in several sports every fall, winter, and spring trimester. The rivalry is America's earliest between preparatory schools. The two schools were also two of the three schools (the other, Lawrenceville), who became the three first schools in the United States to form secondary school lacrosse teams in 1882. Similar boarding school traditions include the Choate–Deerfield rivalry, Hotchkiss–Taft rivalry, the Blair–Peddie rivalry, the Hill–Lawrenceville rivalry, the Groton–St. Mark's rivalry and the Loomis-Chafee–Kent rivalry.

The similarities between the schools augment the importance of the rivalry. The two schools were founded by the Phillips family. Andover was founded by Samuel Phillips, Jr. in 1778, and Exeter was founded by his uncle John Phillips in 1781. The two schools are located 37 miles apart. The schools share similar seals and mottoes as well.

Exeter defeated Andover 12–1 in the first ever baseball game played between these two academies on May 2, 1878. Andover, in turn, defeated Exeter 22–0 in football on November 2, 1878. One of Exeter's most memorable football games took place in 1913 with a 59–0 victory over Andover. One of Andover's most memorable football games took place more recently, when Andover reciprocated with a matching 59–0 victory over Exeter in 1952. Tradition states that if any game ends in a tie, this result is final.